I have been involved in Martial Arts
since I was twelve years old and have been very fortunate
over the years with the caliber of Martial Artists that
I have had an opportunity to train and work with. I met
Jeff Osborne, Hook'N'Shoots Fight Promoter and
Ultimate Fighting Championship Ringside Commentator,
in 1997 and worked with the Hook'N'Shoots guys
at several Professional Competitions over the next three
to four years. All the Pro Competition Photos in my gallery
were taken at events that I was able get press access
to thanks to Jeff at Hook'N'Shoots, so thanks
man! Jeff spends most of his time these days concentrating
on keeping his M.M.A. web site, www.FightWorld.com
,up to date with all the latest fight cards and fight
results from most of the major competitions in the M.M.A.
community.
All of the Amateur Competition Photos in this gallery
are a result of my own documentation of different events
that I have been involved with in the more recent years.
They include the Southeastern Submission Wrestling
Challenge, The Underground Fight Club and
Cage Brawl. These events are promoted in North
Carolina and Alabama and are promoted by people who I
have had the opportunity to meet over the years. The popularity
of M.M.A. Competitions is on the rise and we look forward
to many future fight nights to come.
So here is my background in a nutshell. I was fascinated
with Bruce Lee from a very early age and inspired by my
older brother to actually start seeking instruction. I
was first exposed to Jun Fan / Jeet Kune Do, the style
created by Bruce Lee, and started receiving instruction
from Birmingham native Sifu Lamar Davis II. Jeet Kune
Do quickly became the foundation that I would build upon
over the years to come and is still my favorite and most
effective style.
I was then exposed to Akayama Ryu Ju Jitsu and received
instruction from Birmingham native Mark Barlow at Akayama
Dojo. I was quite taken with the concept of Ju Jitsu because
it enabled me to submit a challenger without ever having
to strike or kick. I have always been one of the lightest
guys every where I have trained and with Ju Jitsu that
was not such a factor. Ju Jitsu is all about the principals
of leverage and knowing where and how to apply it. I believe
that a fighter is not well rounded until he has both stand
up striking skills, kicking skills and grappling skills.
In 1995 my older brother, Pete, and I went to The Ultimate
Fighting Championship #3 in North Carolina and a
spark was lit in me that has never been extinguished.
There was an intense rawness in the air, because M.M.A.
competitions were still somewhat new in the United States.
We saw Royce Gracie fight Kimo Leopaldo and it was a fight
for the history books. There were several other fights
on the card that night including a match with our friend
Roland Paine from North Carolina. Roland lost due to a
knock-out from a seven foot tall Canadian named Harold
Howard.
In 1996 my brother and I attended a three day seminar
in North Carolina hosted by Brazilian Ju Jitsu instructor
Rickson Gracie. We were blown away with the skills that
Rickson had. Rickson is regarded as the world's best fighter
to date by most M.M.A. enthusiasts. The three days that
we spent with Rickson inspired me to train more and more
over the years to follow. That experience is one that
changed my life.
In 1997, while attending The Ultimate Fighting Championship
#10, I met Jeff Osborne and Chris Heath from Hook"N'Shoots.
After getting to know them, they offered me the opportunity
to start helping them with photo shoots. From there I
would go on to photograph and attend many professional
and amateur events over the years. It has been an experience
that I would not trade for the world.
Over the years I have trained with many people, in many
different styles of Martial Arts. Some of the styles include;
Jeet Kune Do / Jun Fan, Akayma Ryu Ju Jitsu, Brazilian
Ju Jitsu, Judo, Russian Sombo, Shoot Wrestling, Muay Thai
Boxing, Kali and Eskrima. Some of the most note worthy
people that I have trained with over the years are; Sifu
Pete Buchwalter, Sifu Lamar Davis II, Mark Turkquit, Sensie
Mark Barlow, Rickson Gracie, Gene LeBell, Ted Wong, Dr.
Zee Lo, Gokor Chivickian, Olig Taktarov, John Donahue,
Sifu Jerry Poteet.
I would also like to send out a special thank you to
some of my local training partners who have inspired me
to do my best over the years. Among them are; my brother
Sifu Pete Buchwalter, Mark Turquit, Andre Villanueva and
Roman Locklear. Thanks guys and I look forward to many
more days of training to come.
Well, that is the background on where all these photographs
materialized from and a little background on my personal
life as well. I hope that you enjoy the photos in this
gallery and will check back from time to time to see updates
of new photos. Thanks for visiting my Web Site!
